introduction.  

this is a low activity, independent and selective roleplay blog of irelia, the blade dancer of riot games' league of legends & associated media. all art depicted on this carrd has been sourced from official art. edits are by me, and the psd used is tough love by jaynedits.my blog was formerly under the url danceblades.

  blog contents.  

please tag parental abuse as a trigger for myself; i will also ensure to be mindful of what triggers my mutuals have.if you are unaware of my muse's background / character identity, possible themes of my blog will include ( and is not limited to ) general talk of violence, war trauma, discussions of mental illness, family deaths and vague allusions to religious themes.

  dni.  

i will be blocking minors, personals who reblog my posts, and a few other dni criteria. don't be a freak. i don't really care for drama, but i have very low tolerance for content i don't want to see.

  following.  

i do not usually unfollow for inactivity since i tend to have long bouts of low muse myself, so no need to worry about that provided that we have interacted ic / ooc to any extent, i.e. if you've sent a prompt, or if we've messaged expressing interest in plotting. duplicates are welcome to follow.

  writing preferences.  

i prefer plot oriented interactions, but fluff is fun at times. the threads i am most likely to have muse for are the ones that i feel have a solid direction, or contribute to developing either / both participating muses.this does not mean i won't be continuing any threads that have not been plotted! it is fun to go with the flow and see where the interaction takes us, i'm only lying out my preference for threads that feel new to me. mutuals are 100% welcome to send inbox prompts anytime.when it comes to formatting, i choose to not use icons & favor small text interspersed with colour & italics. i prefer to match lengths as well as i can. i don't expect the same from my partners, please do let me know if you have trouble with any element of my formatting preferences, i am happy to not use it in our interactions.i only ask that you cut your posts, and make a new post when continuing from an ask reply! i enjoy a neat dash.

  shipping.  

update as of nov 30th 2024: currently i am not interested in writing any romantic or sexual interactions on irelia - i will still acknowledge them if they do come up, and i'm still fine to discuss a possible romantic connection between our muses if chemistry is right - i just cannot rp it at the moment. thank you for understanding in advance ;w; if this changes in the future, i will post an update about it and change my rules to reflect it.out of respect for my former / current shipping partners, even if we do discuss possible romantic interactions or have done so in the past, please do feel free to write a pairing with any active irelias if you so choose - i will not limit anybody on this matter.

  writer.  

i currently use the alias astra but mutuals who have known me under lia may call me that! i prefer they / she pronouns, they if we are less familiar with each other please. i'm 22+, and i've been writing irelia for a long time. please don't hesitate to reach out to me in dms! i promise i'm more chill than my rules seem. my replies may be on the sporadic end, but i do my best to reach out to everyone.

  name.    irelia xan
  age.    twenty six
  birthdate.    april 24th
  gender.    female
  nationality.    ionian ( chinese in modern verses )
  race.    human; magic user
  astrological sign.    taurus sun, cancer moon, capricorn rising
  pronouns.    she / her
  orientation.    pansexual  height.    5'7" ( 170cm )
  hair color.    ink black with a blue tint
  eye color.    sky blue; clear as ice, gentle as still waters
  skin tone.    lightly sunbright with a warm undertone

  alignment.    lawful / neutral good
  relevant tropes.    And This is For…, Broken Bird, Dance Battler, Dark and Troubled Past, Do Not Go Gentle, Fighting for a Homeland, Good is Not Soft, Improvised Weapon, Lady of War, master of the levitating blades, Not so Stoic, One-Man Army, Pay Evil unto evil, Reluctant Warrior

  positive traits.  

Irelia is a perfectionist who has a strong desire to reform and improve herself, her circumstances & the people around her. Deeply patriotic, she loves her homeland dearly. She’s often quite idealistic in her thinking and is a genuine altruist at heart. She’s full of passion, charisma and a sense of confidence which begets trust from others. Spirituality is an important aspect of her life and she has faith in the spirit of Ionia.the captain takes pride and joy in guiding others to work together to improve themselves and their community, making her a natural leader - even if she occasionally doubts her capability to lead. Loyal, responsible and caring, Irelia is a good partner and companion. She finds it easy to communicate with others, bringing ideas together with eloquence and empathy. Her perceptive nature goes into a natural drive to improve.

  negative traits.  

However, she is somewhat melancholic and can sink into long periods of sadness when unchecked. She’s generally quite a serious person and can rely heavily on pre-existing prejudice when judging others. Irelia dislikes expressing her anger & represses the emotion, leading to occasional outbursts of brashness and frustration. She also often has a one track mind and can be very set in her ways out of stubborness.A principled and uncompromising leader, Irelia follows rules to a tee and expects the same of others. While generally a good trait, this can lead to somewhat of a messiah complex and a rather high horse from which she may come across as judgemental. She possesses a strong sense of her ideals which can lead to self-righteousness and pride. She’s dutiful and disciplined in her work but can be a workaholic at times, overworking herself to exhaustion.

  mains.  

The First Lands, a beautiful and untamed land teeming with magic, a generally peaceful nation of people who seek balance and harmony with the wild environment. With inhabitants living in scattered villages across the sprawling archipelago and governed largely by separate provincial governments, Ionia’s people and cultures are diverse but largely isolationist.Encouraged to pursue their own paths and convictions, people could choose a journey of spiritual enlightenment, or mastery of their chosen discipline, or simply live out a humble and unostentatious life.Within the province of Navori dwelled the Xan family, in a village closer to the Placidium rather than the Western shoreline of Ionia’s main island. The firstborn daughter was named Irelia, a lively and compassionate girl.As a child, Irelia was a warm spirited and outgoing eldest sister who enjoyed taking care of her younger siblings. She always saw the good in everybody and always offered a helping hand to whoever needed it.

Better times there were, and will be again.

i remember when i danced for fun.

Delighted by Irelia’s interest in silk dancing, her grandmother taught her the ancient art. She spoke often of its connection to the Spirit of Ionia, but Irelia simply admires the beauty of human movement through dance. The Xan daughter often performed at local festivals, her talent attracting the praise and admiration of many.She continued not only out of genuine interest, but the desire to be recognised for her talent came into the picture along with her passion. As she grew her skills, she spent less time with her siblings. Irelia’s parents accommodated their eldest child’s love for dancing and accompanied her to other districts for her to perform there.Young and eager to learn more, Irelia was recommended by the village elders to travel to the renowned Placidium and study her chosen discipline amidst the brightest minds and elite performers. Seeking to master the art, Irelia was only nine years old when she parted from her family and began her training at the Placidium.Her natural talent was developed and polished by her astounding drive to better herself, quickly earning a name for herself as a rising star among the best performers.

However, the unsettling news of foreign ships being sighted off of the coast developed into a hostile invasion by Noxian forces. Returning to her village, the young dancer was horrified to find it occupied by armed foreigners.The soldiers hailed from the distant land of Noxus, where a cruel ruler saw Ionia’s pacifistic ways of living as a weakness to conquer and exploit for his own gain.Entering her homestead, Irelia found the haphazardly buried bodies of her family in the backyard, garden upturned and blood smeared upon stone tiles. Overcome by her grief and anger, the dancer confronted the Noxian Admiral Duqual, who had murdered her family as his men were looting the Xan household.She attempted to snatch away her family crest from the Noxian soldiers, but her strength was obviously little contest to them, who laughed as the young girl clung onto the heirloom. Irelia was hurled to the ground and held down by Noxians as her family crest was shattered.

give them
an inch, they will take a kingdom.

What strange power works through me,
I do not know.

Once she had ceased her efforts of resistance after being held down by many soldiers, Duqual ordered his subordinates to kill her. As she laid upon the floor of her family home, her family dead and the people she grew up with being treated like they were already enslaved, she closed her eyes. And yet, something deep within her refused to accept this as the end.A melodious rhythm began to beat in her soul, something like a spiritual calling. Calmness washed over her aching spirit like a healing balm, a strange humming rang in her head as the metal pieces of the shattered Xan crest began to vibrate.As if in a trance, Irelia sent the broken pieces flying with a sweep of her arm, the sharp edges of the broken crest acting as blades as they sliced through two of the Noxian soldiers.As the men reeled away in shock, Irelia snatched the shards and fled the village. Clutching the shards, she retreated into the surrounding woods whilst being pursued. It was difficult, but the dancer eventually lost the pursuers within the forest landscape which she knew better than them. In the tranquil and secluded woods away from the hostile forces, the young dancer mourned for her family.

Behind her, Duqal ordered for the buildings to be pillaged and burned down, leaving nothing of the young girl’s former life for her to return to. Irelia eventually found her way to a nearby village, where she learned of a band of resistance fighters within Navori being formed.Irelia was treated well by the people there, and in return she did all she could to give her fellow Ionians a sense of hope - through silk dancing, her graceful movements bringing serenity and harmony to both herself and her ever-growing audience. She carried the broken crest with her in a satchel, afraid of that power and afraid of herself. The group slowly made their way to the Placidium, warning any villages they came across of the Noxian occupation.As Irelia performed more in the aftermath of her family’s murder, she came to realize that there was more truth within her grandmother’s teachings of spirituality than she had ever anticipated. It’s as if all the techniques which she’s been perfecting over the years have been expressions of the Spirit of Ionia all along, the movements of her body acting as a conduit for magic to flow through.

None can do what I do... so i will do it.

Ours is the land of magic, & that is worth dying for.

Irelia’s presence within the camp became more than just a young and talented dancer, she became a symbol of hope for the Ionian resistance. Her story did not only garner empathy, but it fostered the growth of a fiercely determined group of people who believed that the old ways of peace cannot be upheld in the face of Noxian horrors, that Ionia needed to fight back and defend their land.Upon their arrival, it was clear to all that the Placidium has been changed, perhaps irrevocably. The tension was palpable within the air, anxious and fearful crowds filled the streets with unrest. What Irelia had believed to be an unshakable land of peace turned out to be a merely undisturbed set of fragile scales which had been set off balance as a result of the invasion.Irelia was only twelve years of age when she decided to join the militia. Many of those who had travelled with her decided to follow her, dedicated to protecting Ionia’s sacred and wild lands & all it’s monasteries and peoples.

She turned all her sadness inwards and directed her passions towards learning. Learning how to wield a sword in case she’s ever caught in a situation where she cannot use her blades, learning how magic works in an effort to figure out how she manipulates her blades, learning whatever information was available to her about Noxus.Many who wished to resist the invasion all across Navori gathered at the Placidium and trained alongside the young girl who would always work twice as hard. If they knew what she had witnessed, would they still whisper about her as she passed by? Irelia wanted none of their pity or attention. All she wanted was to perform for the sake of performing, for the sake of honouring the traditional dances. Yet even that joy had been stolen from her by the Noxians.A year after Irelia joined the militia, the former Captain of the Guard fell to Noxus in a gruelling battle. The news of the murder stunned the people and left a vacancy which none were eager to fill. It was as if hope had been sucked away from the inhabitants of the Placidium. Noxian forces only advanced further, brutally crushing all those who resisted underfoot. It wasn’t long before the Placidium itself was captured by the Noxian general Jericho Swain.

I never meant to lead. I fought, and they followed.

we are the only masters of our fate.

The young dancer held the front lines of battle alongside her fellow resistance fighters, weaving in and out of combat with ease, cutting down enemies with graceful strikes.When she faced the General himself, Irelia fought without any hesitation, besting him in combat and cutting off his hand before hauling it above her head. Shocked at the retaliation of the Ionians at the Placidium, the Noxian soldiers fell back and relinquished their hold on the Ionian capital.Her victory, the Great Stand at Navori ensured her position as Captain of the Guard at hardly sixteen years old. Irelia loved Ionia so, and carried that weight of leadership upon her shoulders without public complaint. There’s a part of Irelia that never wished to play this role, to act the part of a leader while she was so young. She fought out of a sense of desperation, of sheer necessity.

A land irrevocably changed by the tides of warfare, the First Lands are scarred and divided, rival factions unwilling to heed the Council’s wishes and yet fighting amongst each other.The formerly united Ionian militia had been split apart, many former members joining the Navori Brotherhood. The Kinkou are still reeling with the death of Master Kusho, Zed’s Order brews even outside of the shadows and there’s still the matter of the Cabal, not to mention the Vastayan rebellion.Many look towards Irelia for answers, but people also turn away from the blade-witch who turned her silk dances into a weapon. She attends council meetings and visits the provinces, aiding in whatever restoration projects she can.Bit by bit, she picks up her shattered self and tries her best to act as a leader until the day that act becomes the truth.

when no one
is around,
i dance for myself.